Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Curculionoidea » Snout and Bark Beetles (Curculionidae) » Bark and Ambrosia Beetles (Scolytinae) » Unidentified Scolytine Galleries
Photo#466369
Insect Bore Hole?
Copyright © 2010 Matt Goff

Insect Bore Hole?
Sitka County, Alaska, USA
July 3, 2008
I am guessing this trail through the wood was made by an insect (beetle?) of some sort. It was in a rotting sitka alder (Alnus viride ssp. sinuata) branch, and presumably the branch broke where it did because the boring weakened the wood there relative to surrounding parts. I'm interested in any thoughts/ideas about what may have done this.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Matt Goff on 20 October, 2010 - 2:48pm
Last updated 6 May, 2018 - 7:08pm

Moved
Moved from Bark and Ambrosia Beetles.
… Marc DiGirolomo, 6 May, 2018 - 7:08pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Unidentified Wood Borings.
The dark-stained tunnel does suggest an ambrosia beetle, now that you mention it. The species you mention are all in subtribe Xyleborina, but I'm not familiar enough with this group to say what the most specific safe placement for this image would be.
… Charley Eiseman, 13 January, 2012 - 4:16pm login or register to post comments

Hey Matt this looks just like
Hey Matt this looks just like the mining of the Granulate Ambrosia beetle, formaly the Asian Ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus crassiusculus. I can't tell you for sure that it is in fact that species but I have dissected a couple hundred minings of X. crassiusculus, X. germanus and Cnestus mutilatus. This looks more like the mining of the first two which is caused by a single female.
… Joshua P. Basham, 13 January, 2012 - 12:56pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request. Almost certainly some kind of beetle, and it's probably possible to tell what kind based on this pattern, the characteristics of the frass, and the fact that it was in an alder. I hope someday the right person will see this "unidentified wood borings" section...
… Charley Eiseman, 16 November, 2010 - 2:44pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks...
One of the things I wonder is the path that was taken. Was the curvy spur just below the middle the starting point, with the travel making the 'S' to the right, left, then back to the right until reaching the layer it apparently preferred and going all the way around prior to exiting?

Looking back at the original picture at the full detail, it appears that holes branched off in both directions along the branch longitudinally. I'm not sure if that would imply more than one individual, or if one would return to the same place repeatedly.
… Matt Goff, 16 November, 2010 - 3:08pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact